Last Guard is the fifth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and the twentieth book overall in the Psy-Changeling universe. Due to the sequential, highly connected nature of the two series, this book contains spoilers for the previous novels. This review will, consequently, also contain spoilers.

Payal Rao is in a desperate situation. Her father, Pranath Rao, current head of the Rao family, is a merciless fiend who killed her eldest brother when Pranath caught that young man conspiring against him, forcing his other children to watch the homicide to be sure they got the message. Pranath has also fathered a second, much-younger-than-his-current-heirs set of children to remind those set to inherit that they are dispensable. Payal, her father’s likely successor and current working CEO of the family firm, may be publicly known as a “psychopathic robot” – cold, methodical, and ruthless – but she is none of those things. She’s simply a survivor.

Canto Mercant places family above all. Why shouldn’t he? He belongs to the wonderful, powerful Mercant clan. Cousin to Silver (heroine of Silver Silence) and friends with her mate Valentin, Canto is surrounded by people who love and care about him. But it wasn’t always that way.

Many years before, Canto was in a rehabilitation center for “damaged” Psy children. Their teachers called their subjects by numerical designation rather than by name and used violence as a lesson plan. One such lesson cost Canto, known there as 7J, the use of his legs. It would have cost him his life if a brave young girl he knew only as 3K hadn’t intervened at her own expense. Canto never learned her name; once the Mercants rescued him from the facility he never saw her again – but he’s continuously searching for her.

Canto and Payal are united by a rare skill – both of them are Anchors on the Psy Net. They are also united by a critical, secret piece of information – the Psy Net is dying. And the millions of Psy who rely on it, themselves included, will die when it fails. Canto needs Payal to be the spokesperson for the Psy Anchors, to go public about the problems facing Psy with their designation and about what those problems mean for the Psy people as a whole.

Canto thought he had thoroughly researched Payal before he arranged their initial meeting, but she surprises him by greeting him as 7J. He knows instantly she is 3K, the girl he has been searching for. Their shared history changes everything for both of them. Payal is willing to trust Canto, something she wasn’t prepared to do when she first agreed to liaise, and Canto is prepared to trust her. In the Psy world, where families and individuals often feud to the death, this mutual trust is a rare and powerful commodity. It is that trust that enables them to unite the Anchors in a desperate bid to fix the Psy Net and save their race – and to fall in love while doing so.

Fans of the series will be familiar with the plot and characters of this story. Payal, like most powerful TKs, controls her considerable abilities with the use of Silence, and her family situation makes the rigid emotionless discipline required by this protocol a must for her life. Her father not only yields inflexible control over her through threats of assassination, but he also regulates a form of chemo which keeps brain tumors from forming in Payal’s head. He gives her only one dose at a time and Payal has been unable to find a lab capable of reproducing the elixir. Her life literally depends on keeping him happy.

Payal’s younger brother, who would very much like to take her place as heir apparent, is a murderous psychopath. Pranath uses him as a failsafe in case Payal finds a way around the chemo, reminding her on a regular basis that a sociopath will be her replacement, possibly torturing and murdering the younger siblings whom she loves, should Payal ever fail him.

Canto had only been in the torture facility where he met Payal because his father’s family had the raising of him during his early years. Fortunately, when his mother learned what had happened, she and her mother, the powerful matriarch of the influential Mercant clan, were able to get him out of that location and pull him into their own warm and loving family. Canto was always too broken to maintain Silence, hence his presence in that ‘school’, but he still has formidable gifts of his own. One of those gifts is to understand the Anchor position as no one has done for generations and to understand how crucial it is that he and Payal work together to forge a powerful Anchor Alliance that can force the ruling Psy Council to take their issues seriously.

The differences between Canto, with his warmth and broken Silence, and Payal, whose Silence is so complete she is essentially a mobile block of ice, should have kept the two from falling in love. Instead, they find in each other precisely what they need. Payal feels deeply but suppresses it all because her family could use it against her. Canto provides her a safe harbor in which to love and be loved, he offers aid she can depend on, and a security that she has been longing for all her life. Payal knows she is safe with Canto and having never been safe before she finds that feeling wonderous. Canto is loved by his family but his inability to walk has made them protective of him, so the chance to be the protector and anchor that Payal needs makes him extremely happy. Canto also appreciates the caring, giving person he sees buried beneath Payal’s Silence. By becoming the public face of the Anchors, she risks much but she is willing to do so for the sake of the millions of strangers who would die without her aid. Given Payal’s family situation, Canto knows the incredible courage it takes for her to make herself so vulnerable. I liked that their romance is based on a very mutual protecting/being protected situation and that both of them are fiercely committed to the community they are a part of and to each other.

I’m not going into the details of the plot around the failing Psy Net but as always, Ms. Singh does an amazing job of world building. All the intricate little pieces of politics, culture and history that make up this universe are juggled to perfection, serving as an ideal background to the love story.

My one quibble with the tale is that a lot of what we read here is very familiar. The Psy Net has been failing for the last several books and it seems like we are regularly discovering a new designation that is vital to its existence. This book is still great, but the plot feels a tiny bit well worn.

Regardless of that (minute) flaw, a wonderful love story and the continuing build-up of the Psy-Changeling world make Last Guard a must read for fans of the series.

Another solid entry into this series! Payal and Canto meet as children, and lose contact after their traumatic experience. Both live their lives in different ways. They are both anchors in the psynet, and get reacquainted to help save the psynet from collapsing. The way that Canto has pined for her for so long is breathtaking. Payal wants to let go of Silence, but she is afraid that it will make her "crazy" if she does.
This journey of love was amazing and beautiful! I continue to adore each entry in the series, and can't wait to see what's next. Hopefully more bear pack!

Last Guard
Psy-Changeling Trinity Series - Book 5
By Nalini Singh

Berkley Sensation - July 2021

Paranormal Romance


The Psy-Changeling Trinity series, is a continuation of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. It is essentially the second story arc. New readers might find starting with Silver Silence a good easy introduction into this world. However, it does contain spoilers to the previous story arc and characters. Accordingly, this review assumes that the reader has read the previous stories in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. Personally, since I have enjoyed all of the stories to date, I highly suggest reading the series in order.

Payal Rao knew that every step, every decision she made could be her last. Her psychopathic brother had thrived in Silence with the help of their sociopathic father. She had been able to find her niche, and was now the CEO of the Rao Conglomerate. Her excellent business acumen satisfied her father and cemented her position. To the world, even after the fall of Silence she was the epitome of a silent psy. But she was also an anchor, critical to the survival of the PsyNet, which was fraying and at risk of a catastrophic collapse.

Canto Mercant thrived in the shadows. His family was well known for accessing information, and he was a key component. Now, he was utilizing that knowledge, as well as the knowledge of being an anchor, to try to save the PsyNet. The Ruling Coalition might be trying to save the PsyNet, but there were no anchors represented. And with no anchors, there would be no PsyNet.

Canto might have initiated contact with Payal for her designation, but once he sees her, he knows there is so much more than the rigid cardinal telekinetic Payal shows the world. However, between the instability of the PsyNet and the devious nature of Payal's family, anything more than a professional relationship might be a risk too far to take.

Last Guard was an interesting romance where readers learn more of the anchor designation. Everyone knows that Mercants are loyal to their family, and it was fascinating to see this play out in Canto's backstory. I enjoyed watching Payal and Canto's relationship grow. As always, I look forward to the next Psy-Changeling story.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

Last Guard is the fifth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and the twentieth book overall in the Psy-Changeling universe. Due to the sequential, highly connected nature of the two series, this book contains spoilers for the previous novels. This review will, consequently, also contain spoilers.

Payal Rao is in a desperate situation. Her father, Pranath Rao, current head of the Rao family, is a merciless fiend who killed her eldest brother when Pranath caught that young man conspiring against him, forcing his other children to watch the homicide to be sure they got the message. Pranath has also fathered a second, much-younger-than-his-current-heirs set of children to remind those set to inherit that they are dispensable. Payal, her father’s likely successor and current working CEO of the family firm, may be publicly known as a “psychopathic robot” – cold, methodical, and ruthless – but she is none of those things. She’s simply a survivor.

Canto Mercant places family above all. Why shouldn’t he? He belongs to the wonderful, powerful Mercant clan.  Cousin to Silver (heroine of Silver Silence) and friends with her mate Valentin, Canto is surrounded by people who love and care about him. But it wasn’t always that way.

Many years before, Canto was in a rehabilitation center for “damaged” Psy children. Their teachers called their subjects by numerical designation rather than by name and used violence as a lesson plan. One such lesson cost Canto, known there as 7J, the use of his legs. It would have cost him his life if a brave young girl he knew only as 3K hadn’t intervened at her own expense. Canto never learned her name; once the Mercants rescued him from the facility he never saw her again – but he’s continuously searching for her.

Canto and Payal are united by a rare skill – both of them are Anchors on the Psy Net.  They are also united by a critical, secret piece of information – the Psy Net is dying. And the millions of Psy who rely on it, themselves included, will die when it fails. Canto needs Payal to be the spokesperson for the Psy Anchors, to go public about the problems facing Psy with their designation and about what those problems mean for the Psy people as a whole.

Canto thought he had thoroughly researched Payal before he arranged their initial meeting, but she surprises him by greeting him as 7J. He knows instantly she is 3K, the girl he has been searching for. Their shared history changes everything for both of them. Payal is willing to trust Canto, something she wasn’t prepared to do when she first agreed to liaise, and Canto is prepared to trust her. In the Psy world, where families and individuals often feud to the death, this mutual trust is a rare and powerful commodity. It is that trust that enables them to unite the Anchors in a desperate bid to fix the Psy Net and save their race - and to fall in love while doing so.

Fans of the series will be familiar with the plot and characters of this story. Payal, like most powerful TKs, controls her considerable abilities with the use of Silence, and her family situation makes the rigid emotionless discipline required by this protocol a must for her life. Her father not only yields inflexible control over her through threats of assassination, but he also regulates a form of chemo which keeps brain tumors from forming in Payal’s head. He gives her only one dose at a time and Payal has been unable to find a lab capable of reproducing the elixir. Her life literally depends on keeping him happy.

Payal’s younger brother, who would very much like to take her place as heir apparent, is a murderous psychopath. Pranath uses him as a failsafe in case Payal finds a way around the chemo, reminding her on a regular basis that a sociopath will be her replacement, possibly torturing and murdering the younger siblings whom she loves, should Payal ever fail him.

Canto had only been in the torture facility where he met Payal because his father’s family had the raising of him during his early years. Fortunately, when his mother learned what had happened, she and her mother, the powerful matriarch of the influential Mercant clan, were able to get him out of that location and pull him into their own warm and loving family. Canto was always too broken to maintain Silence, hence his presence in that ‘school’, but he still has formidable gifts of his own. One of those gifts is to understand the Anchor position as no one has done for generations and to understand how crucial it is that he and Payal work together to forge a powerful Anchor Alliance that can force the ruling Psy Council to take their issues seriously.

The differences between Canto, with his warmth and broken Silence, and Payal, whose Silence is so complete she is essentially a mobile block of ice, should have kept the two from falling in love. Instead, they find in each other precisely what they need. Payal feels deeply but suppresses it all because her family could use it against her. Canto provides her a safe harbor in which to love and be loved, he offers aid she can depend on, and a security that she has been longing for all her life. Payal knows she is safe with Canto and having never been safe before she finds that feeling wonderous. Canto is loved by his family but his inability to walk has made them protective of him, so the chance to be the protector and anchor that Payal needs makes him extremely happy. Canto also appreciates the caring, giving person he sees buried beneath Payal’s Silence. By becoming the public face of the Anchors, she risks much but she is willing to do so for the sake of the millions of strangers who would die without her aid. Given Payal’s family situation, Canto knows the incredible courage it takes for her to make herself so vulnerable. I liked that their romance is based on a very mutual protecting/being protected situation and that both of them are fiercely committed to the community they are a part of and to each other.

I’m not going into the details of the plot around the failing Psy Net but as always, Ms. Singh does an amazing job of world building. All the intricate little pieces of politics, culture and history that make up this universe are juggled to perfection, serving as an ideal background to the love story.

My one quibble with the tale is that a lot of what we read here is very familiar. The Psy Net has been failing for the last several books and it seems like we are regularly discovering a new designation that is vital to its existence. This book is still great, but the plot feels a tiny bit well worn.

Regardless of that flaw, a wonderful love story and the continuing build-up of the Psy-Changeling world make Last Guard a must read for fans of the series.

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Incredible. It doesn’t matter that this is book 20 in the series, Nalini Singh always manages to snag my attention from the get go and make me fully invested in her characters. I adore Payal and Canto with every fiber of my being, and I love the people they willingly surround themselves with (not most of Payal’s family but those she has no choice in the matter). I also love how Singh continues to add levels of complexity to this world she has been writing in for over a decade. Seeing how Designation A really stepped forward in this one had me cheering the whole way through.

As always, I loved the secondary characters like Arwen and Paval. Singh also introduced us to a whole slew of new secondary characters who have the potential to lead their own book. Granted, I can’t tell which will be next, but I am already eagerly awaiting when we find out.

I also want to tip my hat to Nalini Singh in how her writing and diversity has evolved and expanded. I’ve been rereading the beginning of this series, and while she has always had a great diversity of race, in the beginning her characters tended towards incredibly straight, heteronormative, and alpha. While her main characters in this one were straight (I believe?), she is adding in more queer secondary characters that play a decent role in the story. A beloved cousin who is gay and happily in love with a Bear, a fellow anchor who is non binary. It makes me very happy to see.

Canto himself is a revelation. He is clearly strong, deadly, and capable, but he also is immensely conscious of consent and not pushing through Payal’s boundaries. This is something that wasn’t as evident in the first books. And this softness and care towards her doesn’t make him weaker and he doesn’t see it as a weakness. Instead it makes him an incredible man.

Payal is the badass we all wish we could be. I loved seeing how her mind worked and watching her with Canto. They are the perfect team and the perfect complement to one another.

This book was amazing and I give it all the stars.

Over the arc of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series, we've seen the Psy race go from being the big bad robots with a few dissenters to a people who got a lot of things wrong in their search for peace and safety and are now trying something new. Canto and Payal are perfect examples of the 'new' Psy as a whole: people trying to be brave enough to not only embrace change, but to try to learn new ways of living after a lifetime of abuse. Payal in particular is a person learning that there is no need to be 'perfect' and that it is our flaws and quirks that make us truly unique. Her lessons are ones we should all try to learn from.

The connections between Canto and Payal are wonderfully written, even before words like "love" became involved you could see the bonds between them and cheer them on as they discover how to support each other. By the time emotions develop to admitting they love each other, the reader feels that love as a tangible thing, wrapping around them the way Canto wraps Payal in his arms. It's a feeling that, like the hope for the Psy by the end of the book, stays with you long after the final page.

Readers familiar with the series will enjoy cameos by characters they've met in previous books, including Arwen and Pasha and Silver and Valentine (Silver Silence). They get to further play the 'what's going on between Nikita and Anthony' game and spend more time with Ena Mercant. For readers just joining the world, while more of the backstories will make sense if you've read other books in the series, newbies won't really be lost by jumping in mid-stream. But they will become addicted and instantly need to read the entire series before ever sleeping again. So take a few days off work and make some strong coffee before diving in.

The brilliant world-building and sparkling, tangible emotions readers have come to expect from Nalini Singh are in full force here. Last Guard is a wonderful new addition to an unbeatable series.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Payal and Canto are considered flawed, yet both thrive and succeed. Payal is a Cardinal telekinetic and runs her family’s vast company. Canto, a Cardinal telepath, is a hidden member of the powerful Mercant clan. Both are also part of the rarely discussed Anchor designation. With the Net in danger, Canto begins to collect the As to form a plan to save their future.

Last Guard continues the story of a the post-Silence Psy world. This time around, the story focuses on the little discussed A-designation. The Anchors hold the PsyNet together at a foundation level. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer As, and the work of holding the Net together is becoming difficult for these few. Canto realizes this is a huge problem and decides to bring the As out of the shadows. This is how he connects with Payal, a formidable A. While the concept of As is all very interesting, I felt the book focused too much time on the mechanics of the Net and the As’ function within the Net. I found these lengthy discussions repetitive and hard to follow at times, while also detracting from the romantic elements of the story. 

Meanwhile, we continue to get glimpses of the Architect, the self-ordained queen of the “new world order.” She is growing her network of Scarab Psys, allowing the Scarab disease to run rampant. I like her story so far and believe she’ll make a powerful antagonist in the future. I wish there was actually more of her POV. I want to know her plans! 

I enjoyed the romance of Payal and Canto, except I felt their story took a backseat to the Anchor storyline. Payal and Canto are two different Psys, yet they share a strong bond. He was never Silent, hides in the Net, and has a strong familial bond. She is the picture of perfect Silence, the face of her family’s vast holdings, and loathes her father and brother. The bond between the pair seems unlikely until one looks at the commonality of their shared experiences.  I enjoyed watching the slow transformation in Payal… how she recognizes the connection she has with Canto and how she struggles to find a balance between control and the girl with passion. 

In the end, Last Guard is another entertaining story in Ms. Singh’s vast Psy-Changeling world. The story is solid, but it just couldn’t hold my interest at times. The romance is lovely, but it often took backseat to the problems facing the Net. I recommend it to fans of the series, but newcomers should most certainly not start here. 

My Rating: B-/C+

Harlequin Junkie Recommended Read

Does Nalini Singh write anything that *isn't* epic? Last Guard was an exquisite slow burn romance that also had a wildly exciting plot about ongoing issues with the PsyNet. New details emerged, new alliances were formed, but evil still lurks in the shadows.

If you've been following the Psy-Changeling series, which is now into book five of the Trinity (altogether for the series I believe it's twenty books total), this was a pretty thrilling installment. The two focuses here were Payal and Canto's budding relationship and the continuing breakdown of the PsyNet. For some reason--and it's probably just me--it took a couple of chapters to get my head in the game and feel like I was immersed in the story the way Singh's usually do for me. But once I was there, I couldn't get enough...especially of Canto and Payal. Sigh.

What I found the most interesting about Payal and Canto was that they were very different from the personas they showed the world. And of course there were important reasons why. Payal was a little tougher to get a grasp on for me where she seemed like she was Psy through and through, robotic and ruthless in business and her personal life. I'll let you find out on your own why she had to put up that front, but I can say it had to do with her (mostly terrible) family. Both Payal and Canto had pretty rough beginnings to their lives. And it created a special bond between them that, while raw and at times difficult to navigate, it helped them understand each other quite well. It also meant Canto and Payal knew how to support each other with their own personal demons. Something that was tender and oh so lovely.

The damage to the PsyNet had some glimmers of hope for the future by the end of Last Guard. Let's just say that different groups combining their skills seems to be the way forward, although the Architect and the Scarabs were still issues. That part of the plot remained as intricate and captivating as it has been right along. And I think there are some surprises in store for fans coming up soon, from the way things were left off here.

You simply can't go wrong with anything by Nalini Singh. So if you're looking for a paranormal romance with splashes of science fiction (and even some nosy bear shifters!) Last Guard will be keeper shelf material.

2 brand new characters are the stars here, in one of my all-time favorite series. I loved it so much!

Canto Mercant likes to keep to the shadows, as the head of intel for his extremely powerful family. The Mercants are one of the most well known families in the PsyNet, and they're known for holding tightly to the children produced by their family members. Canto was one that slipped through the cracks, and faced horrifying conditions with his father's family, after a spinal injury made him "imperfect" and therefore unworthy. But his grandmother found him and brought him home. Canto is a cardinal telepath, and an anchor. As an A, His connection to the PsyNet goes deeper than most other Psy, and he and his fellow As help protect the fabric of the PsyNet from beneath.

Payal Rao appears to be the perfect Psy. She's a cardinal telekinetic, and CEO of her family's corporation. She's known for her cold, robotic demeanor in public. In private, she's been fighting for her life in her psychotic family since she was a kid. She learned to cage the screaming voice of the girl inside her, in order to survive, and now she's too scared to ever let her out again. But, the rot in the PsyNet complicates her job as an anchor, which depends on her deep connection to the Net, and to her fellow anchors. The anchors need to come out of the shadows and let all the Psy know what issues they're facing, and that they could be on the precipice of the total collapse of the Net.

Canto and Payal both had a childhood steeped in tragedy and abuse. But, Canto's Mercant family came for him, where Payal had no one to fight for her. Payal is neurodivergent, and Canto is physically disabled due to his spinal injury. They both had a lot to overcome in the world of the Psy, where only "perfection" is acceptable. Their connection to each other, and the care they had for each other was beautiful, and I loved watching them fall more and more in love.

We learned a lot more about the PsyNet in this story, and about the anchor designation, which had only been briefly mentioned in prior books. It was fascinating and fun to see prior favorite characters who are so enmeshed in this series, actually learning things they didn't know about the Net and its anchors as well. I loved the scenes we got with Valentin and the other bears. And also with Kaleb, and the Ruling Coalition members. This series has such a sprawling cast, so getting a minute to revisit with old favorites is always delightful.

Canto and Payal were both so damaged as kids, and it took a lot for them to trust people, especially Payal. But the bond they forged was unbreakable, and they were 100% fated mates. I adored their connection, and how Canto went about caring for Payal until she figured out it was safe to trust him. I love a hero who is gone for the heroine from the start! The world building in this series beyond compare, and the characters are amazing, and unforgettable. I cannot recommend this series, and this book, highly enough!

Last Guard is easily one of my favorite books of 2021! It’s also one of my favorite books in this series – which is saying a lot considering so many of the books are absolutely amazing.

It’s no secret that I yearn for each new book that Nalini Singh writes. She is a master at building a world that never fails to amaze me. Her characters fill me with all the emotions, and the story she tells enchant and engross me.

I gulped down Last Guard as soon as I was able to download it to my Kindle. Then immediately dove back in. I’m still so in love with it that I’m re-reading the entire series right now, so I can enjoy the depth of what Nalini Singh has brought to the page yet again.

We’ve been hearing about anchors in the PsyNet since all the way back in Slave to Sensation. The concept is not new. By the time this book starts readers probably feel that they have a pretty decent feel for who anchors are, what they do, and why they’re so important.

But it quickly becomes obvious that we still have so much more to learn.

Throughout my sixteen years of reading this series the thing that blows me away the most is how Nalini Singh can continuously expand this world and our understanding of it. Things that you know in previous books – well they may not be wrong, necessarily, but it doesn’t mean we have the full understanding either. As I just re-read Slave to Sensation, I’m amazed all that we – and the characters – didn’t know we didn’t know. The world is full of uncertainty and lost history, peopled with unreliable narrators – not because they’re trying to obfuscate, but because they are mostly just best-guessing as well. This makes every revelation feel like truth. It doesn’t feel forced or like the author rewriting the rules. It feels natural. I love that in the twentieth book Nalini Singh can still surprise me with where we’re going.

Sometimes the world and story are the main draw, but here I also loved and adored our two main characters: Payal and Canto. They are complex, unique, and absolutely wonderful. Nalini has always been ahead of the game with regards to diversity, but here she escalates even that. Payal is Indian and clearly neurodivergent. Canto has a disability and uses a wheelchair. There are LGBT characters that are more than just blink-and-you-miss-them cameos. For me, the representation here was beautifully and lovingly done. There were times that tears filled my eyes because I felt so seen. So understood.

Last Guard gave me everything I hoped for, everything I wished for, and everything I didn’t even know I wanted.

Payal Rao is a woman of immense authority: supremely intelligent, a cardinal telekinetic, CEO of Rao Enterprises, and most important of all, a powerful anchor for the PsyNet. Her icy beauty and automaton exterior present a perfect Psy face to the world. Canto Mercant is also an anchor and a cardinal telepathic as well as the head of intelligence for the enigmatic Mercant family preferring to remain in the shadows. With his striking intellect and worldwide connections, Canto realizes that the anchors must come together in order to save the PsyNet which is on its last legs before ultimate collapse.

Even for the Anchors themselves, little is known or understood about how they function since they have always been in the background working silently to uphold the massive PsyNet construct vital to each member. Canto is far from emblematic of a faultless Psy with his wheelchair and grumpy persona. Canto reaches out to the other known anchors including Payal making a shocking discovery when they meet.

Payal lives in a pit of vipers with a megalomaniac father and psychopathic brother. She can never be anything less than flawless hiding the scarred, broken child within who had been nearly thrown away for being defective. She controls the chaos of her mind with rigid intensity because her father is holding a deadly sword over Payal’s head, and her brother wants her out of the way…permanently.

Payal and Canto share a deep connection forged in the pit of despair and darkness that they almost did not survive. The two children deemed defective and irredeemable, essentially almost thrown away by their Psy families are the ones who as adults just might be the saviors of the PsyNet. When Payal and Canto begin working together, it’s clear their bond is far deeper than just the very real necessity of helping to saving the crumbling PsyNet. Added to their problems, the major force working against those who would save the Psynet is the hidden enemy known as the Architect who wants to rule them all.

Payal and Canto along with the Ruling Coalition are desperately fighting a losing battle to save millions of people while struggling with their own unique issues. They must deal with intense forces, major PsyNet collapses, and a growing passion between them that is its own possible inferno. This story is an intense and, in some places, dark ride for readers of the series. It is a reminder that every person, despite their strengths or seeming lack of them, is important and can change the world.

Amazing book. We are back with the Psy and their struggle to survive all the damage they have caused to the Net. On the outside Payal may seem to be the perfect Silent robotic Psy but inside she is screaming to be free. Canto was broken inside and out as a child and has never stopped looking for the little girl who saved his life. Together they will try to save a whole race of people, will they succeed in saving each other too?
This is a wonderful story of love, overcoming and never letting others opinion of you stop you from your dreams. Well written relatable characters who will draw you in and keep you until the very last page.




I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the direction of these books. The Psy, changeling, and human stories have grown so much. I love revisiting old characters, the way they are woven into the new stories. Payal and Canto were such strong characters on their own and together. Their bond was forged early on and the entire story was a reinforcement of that bond. I like how Nalini doesn't waste time with the characters admitting their love. They come together and are better for it.

Payal Rao is still immersed in Silence. She believes Silence is the only one way to keep herself from going manic. Canto Mercant is the furthest thing from Silent. He was abandoned by his father in an abusive school for defective Psy as a child. There he meets Payal who ends up saving his life and forging a bond that survives years of separation. But the Net is collapsing and an obscure designation might be the saving grace. Canto brings together the few Psy of this forgotten designation. Including a cardinal, Payal, the girl who saved his life. When they meet again, Canto is immediately attracted to Payal, who he had never stopped looking for. Payal can't afford to let emotions in and being near Canto does nothing but threaten her Silence.

So begins story that mirrors quite a bit of Heart of Obsidian, my absolute favorite Psy Changeling book. Except here the heroine is the seemingly cold conscienceless one. Canto was a Sahara in that he was Psy in name only and had never been truly Silent. But unlike that book, I never really connected with Canto and Payal as a couple.

This was a slow burn and it was slow. The first kiss didn't come until about 60% in and by then I was a little bored with the push and pull which became repetitive. This is a plot-driven book where the overall story arc gets the spotlight and I felt the relationship between the main characters had so many layers that were not really explored because the plot was such a huge part of the story.

One thing I always appreciate about these books is how diverse they are. Payal is Indian and Canto is paralyzed. He is not magically fixed by love or even by the miraculous medical Psy.

This series has yet to get stale for me but I find that the books in the Trinity series have not resonated with me as much as the originals. I think part of it is the fact that I'm not familiar with any of these characters before their books come out. In the first series, we followed the fairly small universe of the two Packs SnowDancer and Dark River interspersed with Psy. So they became so familiar and I couldn't wait to get to the stories of their stories. Here every book seems to bounce all over the world manically introducing new characters and I find that I'm not as invested in these Packs and new Psy's. There are just too many and there's no space to properly develop them.

I still enjoyed this one and I'm really excited to see where the series goes next.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

I love Nalini Singh. (Let's just get that out of the way straightaway.) This spin-off series from the very popular Psy-Changeling series is no exception. In this latest installment, Payal Rao and Canto Merchant are Anchor Psy, and there are cracks forming in the Psy-net. Canto and Payal quickly realize that they knew each other as children, and both believed the other dead. Through their childhood bonds, Payal comes to discover that her tightly held shields may allow enough opening to let Canto in.

Singh EXCELS in the paranormal romance genre, and I was so excited to get my hands on a early copy. The Last Guard is a solid addition to the series, and Singh is great at setting up new plots, while revisiting familiar characters.

I don't want to give too much away, but I will say I loved the expansion into the Psy history and mythology, and as always looking forward to the next in the series.

Nalini Singh writes beautiful stories starring wonderful, amazing characters. The overall arc that connects the psy-changeling storyline is fascinating as well. I really enjoyed the Canto's story and how it contributes to the psy-changeling trinity storyline of saving the net. As always, looking forward to the next one!

Another glorious ride with Nalini Singh!! Two broken children in a special school cling to each other amidst the cruelty of their keepers. They are separated but find each other as adults. The intense bond that formed has not been broken, but needs time to mend. I loved these characters and the whole world moving forward! Each book is better.

Last Guard by Nalini Singh is the 5th book in her wonderful Psy-Changeling Trinity series. I have noted many times that Nalini Singh is one of my must read go to authors. I love both of her Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series. Nalini never fails to give us a fantastic story, fabulous couple, as well as great secondary characters. No one does world building so smoothly and flawlessly better than Nalini Singh.
Payal Rao, our heroine, is the CEO of the Rao family. Payal is considered cold, merciless and ruthless; she is a powerful cardinal telekinetic, as well as a strong Psy. What most people do not know is that Payal is also a secret unknown designation A (Anchor).

Canto Mercant, our hero, is a cardinal telepath, and is the head of intel for the Mercant family. Canto suffered a serious injury when he was a child, and because of that, he is wheelchair bound, unable to feel his legs. But that does not stop him, as he is powerful member of the family, as well as also being an Anchor. Canto has noticed on the PsyNet things coming apart, and researches all the unknown A’s, and begins to bring the Anchors together to help the coalition fix the PsyNet before it falls apart; the coalition does not even know anything about the Anchors, which will change.

Canto contacts Payal, and when she agrees to meet him, to his shock, she is the young girl who saved his life all those years ago; he has been looking for her for many years. They are both damaged, having been sent to a place that almost killed them, but now they have risen above the trauma times, and together they will rise to bring the Anchors forward to try and save the PsyNet. The chemistry between Payal and Canto was fantastic, and I loved how slowly Canto, gets Payal to open herself to feelings and love; and a unique bond made them that much more powerful. They were a phenomenal couple.

Though her background is known to be dangerous and ruthless, it was fun to watch Canto bring Payal to meet his grandmother, who is also dangerous and ruthless. Almost immediately, the grandmother sees that Payal is powerful, but the love she has for Canto is very apparent, and Payal in time will become part of the strong Mercant family. Canto comes from a strong family, but a loving one; whereas Payal family is dysfunctional, with her father being the head and manipulative, and her brother a dangerous evil sociopath.

What follows is an exciting, suspenseful, intriguing and action-packed story that kept me glued to my kindle, unable to put the book down. Last Guard was also a fantastic, as well as emotional love story of two damaged people, with a bond that will continue to grow, bringing them totally together. I loved Payal and Canto together, as they sizzled throughout the pages, as well as being powerful Anchors to help find a way to save the PsyNet. I also loved seeing many of our previous heroes, such as Kaleb, Nikita, Aden, Ivy, Anthony, Silver, Valentine, etc. Last Guard leaves off with the continued threat of an unknown enemy, who is planning on destroying the Psy/Net.

Last Guard was so very well written by Nalini Singh, which has always been the norm. She never fails to captivate me with her engaging creative stories, fantastic plots, and seamless world building; wonderful couples in each and every story; super secondary characters and fantastic world-building. I loved every moment of Last Guard. As I have noted many times, if you have not read Nalini Singh, you are missing such a gem of an author.

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for sending this earc. I’ll forever be grateful

Let me just start with the fact that the Last Guard is number 19 in the Psy Changelling world and Nalini still made it unique and special. Every time I open one of the Psy books, it feels like coming home. I loved seeing cha

Things I liked: I really liked that the main characters, Payal and Canto, knew each other as kids and this is their sort of second chance story. The fact that both of them an A Psy but also so different sometimes, they still found a way to love each other : A boy who was neve Silent and the girl who spent her life hiding behind the walls. I like that Canto wasn’t “perfect”. This is the first time we see a Psy that’s wheelchair bound and I think it was super important to see that not at any point the chair stopped him from being who he wanted to be.

Also, can we just for a second mention what a Power Couple these two are? Because they are both from the biggest families in this world and how that affected what kind of people they became: Canto was saved by his grandmother and had all these people who loved around which taught him how to love and Payal, with family who demanded perfection, which made her a perfect figure to become a representative for the A Psy

Was this book my favorite in the series? No. I found it a little slow at the beginning and the relationship a small part of the story BUT was this book important to the bigger picture of the world? Absolutely. We learned so many important information that will help us understand the future books better.

I can’t wait to see what Nalini will do next in this world!

I love this series so much and i don't know how nalini does it but every entry is so solid and amazing it makes me fall for this universe harder. last guard was FANTASTIC. Nalini Singh is a genius. GIVE NALINI THE NOBEL FOR LITERATURE PLEASE.